Sometimes you have to forget that you’re somebody’s momma, someone else’s nurturer, someone else’s provider, boss, therapist, housecleaner, mentor, hero and role model and just be. Be free. Be in spaces and places no one would expect you to be. Hair and toes out, dancing /swaying/moving/ calling in joy, calling in Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge and every ancestor who conspired to form your hips, lips and freedom. Be seen, be joyfilled, be unapologetic, be around people eager to give without expectation of receiving. Just once my beloved sisters, be fearless. Be free. Repeat often until it’s comfortable.
I’m excited to be featuring at the Rebel Wind Poetry Uprising held at my favorite breakfast spot in Media, Bittersweet Kitchen. This event on January 26th at 7pm is hosted by Terry Rumsey who will also be reading. Come early to sign up for the open mic. Seating is limited. There will be coffee, tea, cake, hot cider and other goods available for sale. There is no fee to get in so please support this business. They do amazing work in our community.
I will also have my books for sale and if you purchase Toni’s Room in advance, I’d be honored to sign it for you. I hope to see you on the 26th!
Kiss Kiss These lips They are eager for your gentle touch The anticipation of soft skin against skin Tender Moist Oh how I love the sensation of your tongue Gliding ever so slowly around my oval Moving deeper inside Teasing my anticipation Increasing my drive Feeling warmth and compassion each time our lips collide I can’t take the multiple explosions anymore So I moan some form of your name Begging you to come up for air To give these lips One More Kiss
Sewey Hole Family presents Bruiz and Friends , a Live poetry reading filmed at the infamous Pen and Pencil club in Philadelphia. The event including poetry readings from James Feichthaler, Bob Zell and myself, Toni Love will ONLY be viewed on the Facebook page of Keith Outlaw so visit the Event page to access the link to watch us live.
I hope you are able to check out the show. I will be reading a few new poems but please support and grab a copy of my poetry book or CD from my website and I’d be happy to autograph it for you.
Refusing the courtesy ride home in the back of the police car.
He was innocent.
No apologies for being accused of fitting the description of someone who was running and not doing anything but fitting the description of every black boy profiled.
A black boy running at night.
The cops told me that he wasn’t running when they stopped him. Thank God, I thought.
Because black boys who run get murdered.
So today I feel sad for you and all of the children we’ve lost to racism.
Today I selfishly thank you.
Thank you George for your life because it may have saved the life of my son.
A black boy who just wanted to breathe fresh air.
A black boy who just wants to feel freedom.
I pray for him.
I honor You.
You couldn’t breathe but he will breathe and run and stop and take breath and return home again today
I pray .
~ M. Tonita Austin aka Toni Love
written on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. 5.25.22
Hey I hope you’re coming out on May 18th to check me out. I’ll be reading from my book Toni’s Room along with these fabulous poets at Fergie’s pub. But if you cannot then click the link below to get all the information you need to register for the virtual zoom reading. I hope you can join either way, but if you come out, you can get on the open mic. ♥️All my love, Toni
Live Poetry Event: Tonita Austin, Sibelan Forrester, Alison Lubar Wednesday May 18, 2022 – 7pm Fergie’s Pub 1214 Sansom Street and on zoom – Registration Required
Come out and hang with me in the City!
I’m excited to share my poetry for the first time at a Moonstone Arts Center event with these gifted poets! There will be an open mic and loads of fun and poetry ❤️. I will also have copies of my book “Toni’s Room” for sale and if you already have a copy and want it signed, please bring it with you. They make wonderful Mother’s day gifts.
Elevator available, open mic and refreshments afterwards.
Repost from the Mad Poets Society of PA newsletter:
Friends and fans of poetry! Our next First Wednesday poetry reading, at 7:00 p.m. on April 6, will feature two wonderful poets: Tonita Austin, aka Toni Love, and James Feichthaler!
The reading will take place in the Ballroom, *upstairs* at the Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford, PA. If anyone has questions or needs info about the CAC elevator, contact series host Sibelan Forrester at <sforres1@swarthmore.edu> or leave voicemail at (610) 328-8162.
Light refreshments will be served, and an Open Mic will follow the featured reading.
Greetings! If you’re in the neighborhood and enjoy being outdoors, please join us: Sunday, September 19 – 11:00am at Sankofa Farm in Bartram Gardens “Mother Tongue” is the final program in the series that celebrations the fortifying roots of Black Art. The cob oven, called “The Furrow” is both a work of art and a symbol of divine womanhood, was created by Philly Jawn and award-winning multidisciplinary artist, Misty Sol. Inspired by Toni Morrison’s book, Paradise, the oven will be lit, and fruits will be available in this gathering in remembrance of indigenous peoples and all our multicultural / multi-ethnic ancestors who made use of the land to feed loved ones. Bring your young people, too, to express their craft-making creativity, to dance, to sing, and to introduce themselves on the open mic. Also featuring Karen Smith and Ursula Rucker. All are welcome! Wednesday, September 22 – Autumn Equinox at The Woodlands Philly Jawns–Aziza Kebe, Lois Moses, Kia Knight, Sherry Wilson Butler–will be performing “That Blackness: In Tribute to Nina Simone” as part of the Weez The Peoples (Karen Smith & Donna Dorman) set of the Ars Nova Workshop’s Autumn Equinox Festival. The full schedule is below, with the Weez The People’s performance time scheduled from 6:15pm to 7:15pm. (Philly Jawns will close the Weez portion of show at 7:00pm). Please register in advance, don’t forget to bring a lawn chair, and don’t worry about dusk–the space will be lit and so will the stage. Also featuring Philly Jawn, Toni Love, one of Philly’s favorite jazz vocalists, V. Shayne Frederick, and a few other Philly superstars! https://www.arsnovaworkshop.org/programs/new-grass-odean-pope-immanuel-wilkins-chad-taylor-trio-autumn-equinox-celebration-2021/ Performance Times 5:00 – 6:00 PM Spirits Up 6:15 – 7:15 PM Weez The Peoples 7:30 – 8:45 PM Odean Pope/Immanuel Wilkins/Chad Taylor Hope to see you ! ____________________ Powell-Wright http://www.phillyjawns2020.com Editor/Curator, Philly Jawns: For Women Revisited Lead Strategist, SistahWrites! Founder/Performer, For Women Collective Recipient, Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grant Recipient, Pollination Project Grant Recipient, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Art & Travel Grant Founding Member/Performer, In The Company of Poets Guest Performer: Sistahs Laying Down Hands
MAD POETS SOCIETY . Join us tonight for the next Livin’ on Luck reading at 7 pm! We will feature Pat Kelly, Toni Love, and Francesco Pasqualino. Open mic will follow hosted by Brooke Palma. To register, use the link below. See you there! Registration Link: https://wcupa.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0udu-srzkrH9MkU0-RXt2oPzi1gB9giaND?fbclid=IwAR0S58sEyLeH2zARcRshO0mkZv0lSfzBDaXuLypAu1WDa0QYqKQLZzxsDIQ Pat Kelly is a writer from Harrisburg. He writes poetry and fiction that explores the dark fringes of humanity and its impact on time and memory. He is currently working on his first collection of poetry, Buried Litanies, which is both a means of personal therapy and a voice to his repressed experiences with childhood sexual abuse.
Tonita Austin also known as “Toni Love” is a gifted poet, singer, activist, and writer born in West Philadelphia. While attending Columbia University, Tonita was a student of Amiri Baraka and performed in Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” as the Lady in Orange. Her writing is influenced by both experiences. She is a contributor to the anthology The Black Body and featured poet in the 2018 and 2020 Winter/Fall edition of the Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary magazine. The Restoration EP is her first published recording; Toni’s Room is her first published book. Toni currently resides in Media,PA
Francesco Pasqualino is a restauranteur and writer living in Pittsburgh, PA. Francesco has supported many artistic groups including The International Poetry Forum, The Hillman Center for Performing Arts, and The Mad Poets Society, He has had the honor of studying with Ted Kooser and Mary Karr. His writing appears in Voices in Italian Americana, Mad Poets Review, Main Street Rag, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll find his culinary insights on Attenzione! A Writer’s Journal on his restaurant’s website, pasqualinos.com. He has also shared his family recipes as an invited guest on WQED public television. Mad Poets Society · P.O. Box 1248 · Media, Pa 19063 · USA
Toni's Room 